The Haunting
by Aeslinn
Summary: Tomoyo-chan is having a party in the form of a Haunted House but something strange is going on...OOC most of the time. I enjoyed writing it, so I hope you guys find it at least a LITTLE bit funny.
1. The Invitation

  
The Invitation  
  
  
"You want me to dress up in leather and what?"  
  
Kinomoto Sakura frowned as she tried to understand what her friend Tomoyo said on the other line.   
  
"Dress up in leather and carry a WHIP?"  
  
Beside Sakura, Li Syaoran's ears pricked up the slightest bit. He looked up from his textbooks and slowly turned his head to glance at Sakura. "Carry a whip?" he asked as if the idea was not only disturbing but just the slightest bit...interesting.   
  
"Cat Woman?" Sakura continued, her eyebrows lost in her hairline. "But her costume was so TIGHT in the movie."  
  
Syaoran was nodding eagerly next to her. But the moment she glanced at him he was shaking his head.  
  
"NOOOO. No, no, no..."  
  
Sakura listened for another moment and then sighed. "Tomoyo-chan, just come over and talk to me. Yes, to the house. Syaoran is here with me." She paused. "You want to put him in leather, TOO?"  
  
Syaoran sprang to his feet. "She is a SICK, SICK child!"   
  
Sakura waved at him, trying to make him quiet down. "Yes, yes. Ok. All right. Yeah, just pop on by. We're doing homework." She hesitated. "Of course, only homework."  
  
Syaoran slowly began to sit back down.  
  
"No, I don't know what Syaoran's tonsils look like. What kind of question is that?" Sakura asked, looking positively baffled as Syaoran gave her a look. She shrugged at him, not understanding, and then nodded. "Ok, we'll be here. See you soon. Bye!"  
  
She hung up the phone and set it aside, facing Syaoran again. "She's asking me a BIOLOGY question when we're in CHEMISTRY. That Tomoyo-chan..." she said with a giggle before turning to her homework once more.  
  
Syaoran stared at her in disbelief for another long moment and then looked down at his homework once more. One of these days he would have a nice, long talk with Sakura. About birds and bees. And the difference between girls and boys, because it was OBVIOUS her father hadn't taken it upon himself.  
  
  
  
Daidouji Tomoyo skipped up to the front door of Sakura's house, standing on tiptoe to ring the doorbell. She had her handy camcorder in hand and a brilliant thought brewing in her head. She waited patiently and was rewarded with footsteps moments later.  
  
The door opened a crack and she spotted Syaoran's eye peeking out. "Li-kun! Konnichi wa!"  
  
He glared at her with his one brown eye. "Does she know what my TONSILS look like, Daidouji-san?"  
  
Tomoyo smiled brightly. "She didn't get it, did she?" she asked although it was more of a statement.  
  
"No, of course she didn't."  
  
Tomoyo giggled. "Okay, let me in." And she took a step forward.  
  
"No."  
  
She paused and cocked her head. "No?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
  
  
Sakura popped her head into the hallway from the living room. "Syaoran...?" she asked and her eyes widened as she caught sight of Tomoyo's right hand and leg poking in through the front door. Syaoran was pressed against the door, trying to close it on her. "SYAORAN!"  
  
Syaoran straightened immediately, a look of innocence on his face. "What stalker?" he asked.  
  
Tomoyo flung the door open, sending him into the far wall. "LI-KUN!" she growled, hopping into the house and gripping the camcorder tightly.  
  
"Oh, Daidouji-san!" he said feigning surprise as he detached himself from the wall, his bodily imprint left behind. "Was it you at the door? I didn't even realize it..."  
  
Tomoyo glared at him and flicked her hair over her shoulder, slamming the door shut behind her. She took a moment to compose herself and then rushed toward Sakura, taking hold of one of her hands. "So?" she demanded cheerfully. "What did you think of my idea?"  
  
"The leather and whips one?" Syaoran asked from behind.  
  
"I think it's great." Sakura nodded. "But I'm not sure about Cat Woman. The outfit is a bit...racy."  
  
Syaoran's ears were turning a bright pink she noticed.  
  
"What idea?" he asked, coming closer to join them.  
  
"I'm going to have a party. It's going to be a bit of a Masquerade Ball-slash-Haunted House kind of party." Tomoyo said, looking at him eagerly. "And I'm going to do Sakura-chan's outfit. I was thinking Cat Woman..."  
  
Syaoran liked Daidouji-san sometimes. They always agreed on a lot of things when it came to Sakura. Things like what looked good on her, what brought out her features and played them up. In fact, they agreed a bit too much...  
  
Syaoran paused to study her suspiciously.  
  
"So, I was thinking Cat Woman." Tomoyo was going on. And she cocked her head, looking Sakura up and down. "Or maybe a nice French Maid uniform..."  
  
Syaoran blinked and then mirrored Tomoyo, also looking Sakura up and down.  
  
"Nani?!" Sakura demanded, throwing up her hands to cover herself in embarrassment. "Stop looking at me, you perverts!"  
  
Syaoran lifted his hands, instantly sputtering in response.  
  
Tomoyo merely shrugged and then wound around Sakura, who still covered herself. "That was nothing." She said, floating off toward the guest room.  
  
Syaoran cautiously followed her, slowly circling Sakura who glared at him. And then to tease her he said, "Go as a Sailor Senshi." And he ducked as she swiped at him angrily.  
  
  
  
"Ok, I already invited Eriol-kun. He said he's going to bring along Nakuru and Suppi-chan. And of course, Sakura-chan, please bring along Kero-chan." Tomoyo said, seated with her legs crossed next to Sakura. Syaoran faced them both, lips twisting as he concentrated on the homework.  
  
"It's going to be a party for whom?" Sakura asked her.  
  
Tomoyo thought about it. "Mostly some family and friends. Mom's friends from her job. And you guys, of course. Not a big group."  
  
"But a big house." Syaoran murmured, eyes still focused on his textbook. He cast a quick glance up at them both. "You said you were going to make it into a Haunted House. What exactly do you plan on doing?"  
  
Tomoyo smiled innocently. "Well, if I told you, Li-kun, it wouldn't be a surprise."  
  
Syaoran pondered that one.  
  
"But won't it be strange, my bringing along Kero-chan when you have all these other people who don't know about the Cards?" Sakura asked. "Kero-chan doesn't exactly look like a cat."  
  
"That's not what the little girl who took him in thought when he ran away that time..." Syaoran said under his breath.  
  
Sakura sweat dropped.  
  
"So, it's set then!" Tomoyo said, clapping happily. "Now all we have to worry about are the costumes." She turned to Syaoran. "Li-kun, what are you going to be?"  
  
"Me."  
  
Tomoyo's smile didn't waver in the least although she did look sympathetic. "Oh, really? How...original." She looked towards Sakura and then sat up straight. "Well, if Sakura-chan is going to be Cat Woman-"  
  
"Hasn't been decided yet!"  
  
"Then Li-kun can be Batman?" Tomoyo looked at Syaoran again, ignoring Sakura completely.  
  
Syaoran looked less than pleased. "Batman?" he echoed with a grimace.   
  
"We can always dress YOU up as a Sailor Senshi." Sakura piped up. "What with the dark hair and the muscles you'd be perfect as Sailor Jupiter."  
  
She and Tomoyo both leaned back to get a better look at him.   
  
"OI! I am NOT going to dress up as a girl!" he yelled indignantly. And he paused. "If Sakura is going to be Cat Woman, can ~I~ carry her whip?"  
  
Tomoyo beamed at him, Sakura looking more lost than ever. "I can carry it myself, Syaoran." She said.  
  
Syaoran hung his head, exhaling a small puff.   
  
"Li-kun, if Sakura is Cat Woman, you can be her prisoner, tied up to the wall." she said with a nod. "You'll be naked, of course."  
  
"EH?!" Sakura gasped, eyes wide. And as if he were already naked she covered her eyes with her hands.  
  
Tomoyo looked at him, winking a bit. "We can have a little room just for you where she can whip you and handcuff you and whip you some more..."  
  
Syaoran wasn't sure but he could have sworn he had detected the appearance of shooting stars in the dark-haired girl's eyes for a split second. Then she shook herself and cocked her head, smiling innocently once more.  
  
Sakura was whimpering behind her hands.  
  
"You don't like my idea?" Tomoyo asked, sounding hurt.  
  
"I love it." Syaoran piped up instantly.  
  
Sakura wailed again.  
  
Tomoyo rose joyfully. "I'm so happy we agree. I'll get started on the house right now!" she scooped up her notes and waved, skipping off toward the door. "Ja ne!"  
  
  
  
"SYAORAN!"  
  
Syaoran paused, halfway through closing his front door. His ears pricked up at the irritating voice, face paling. "Oh, no..."  
  
From behind, two arms wrapped around his neck, the weight of a sudden body throwing him into the door. "Welcome home!" the voice shrieked in his ear, setting his teeth grinding.  
  
Syaoran tried to hold it in, he really did. But the girly scream broke from him and he found himself tossing off the body, opening the door and flinging it out, slamming the door shut quickly.  
  
No problem. Disaster averted. Now to make believe it had never happened, that he had never heard her...  
  
A knock came from outside, sounding lonely. "Syaoran? I'm locked out..."  
  
Syaoran ran for his life.  
  
  
  
"So, Tomoyo-chan is going to have a party and we're invited." Sakura said cheerfully, looking from Kero-chan to Yue-san. "Isn't it a great idea?"  
  
Kero-chan glanced at Yue-san, Yue slowly looking right back. "And she's my new Mistress. You're sure about this?" he stated, arms crossed over his chest once more.  
  
Kero-chan smiled sympathetically.  
  
Sakura opened her mouth to say more but the phone rang at that precise moment, stopping her. She reached over, picking it up. "Hello?"  
  
"She's AFTER me!"  
  
Sakura frowned. "Syaoran?"  
  
There was the sound of rapid breathing and he spoke again, sounding frantic. "I tried to lock her out! But she has the KEYS! I tried to throw her down the stairs! She LAUGHED at me after getting back UP!"  
  
Sakura grimaced, not understanding. "Syaoran, where are you?"  
  
"Locked in the pantry." He whispered, tone desperate. "I'm not going to make it out alive, Sakura."  
  
Sakura blinked. "What are you TALKING about?"  
  
"Tell my mother I love her. And my sisters. Well, maybe not all of them. But MOST of them!" he hissed into the receiver. "Tell them I'm sorry I never lived up to the Li name. And tell them-"  
  
"SYAORAN! FOUND YOU!" came a high-pitched laughing voice from his end.  
  
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!"  
  
The phone went dead.  
  
With a sigh Sakura hung up the phone and then turned to Yue and Kero once more. "What was I saying?" she asked politely, returning to the matter at hand.  
  
Kero was looking at her strangely. "Who was that?" he asked.  
  
Sakura smiled. "Syaoran. Meilin is back."  



	2. The Costumes

The Costumes  
  
  
Hiiragizawa Eriol found himself drawn to a long, black cloak with a large star embroidered in the face of the material. He stared at it, blinking blankly. Funny, he had one just like it at home. He turned to glance over his shoulder as a squeal cut the air.  
  
"SUPPI-CHAN!" shrieked a high-pitched voice.  
  
"Stop CALLING me that!" thundered back a second voice.  
  
Eriol looked from the first speaker, a young looking woman with long brown hair, to the second speaker. A cat. Spinel Sun's fur was standing straight up off his tiny body, claws extended and digging into the bench. Before him stood Akizuki Nakuru, eyes blazing.  
  
"If you so much as even THINK about swiping at me again I will rip off EACH and EVERY claw from your teeny little paws-" Nakuru growled furiously and now that Eriol took a closer look he saw a thin scratch upon her cheek.  
  
Spinel Sun hissed just as angrily, eyes flashing.   
  
"Sumimasen..." said a store attendant, smiling cautiously at Nakuru, hands clasped to her chest. "Perhaps I may be of service?"  
  
Nakuru and Spinel Sun both turned their heads to look at her slowly. And then Nakuru straightened, stiffening. "Can't you see I'm having a CONVERSATION here?" she yelled, motioning toward Spinel Sun. "For ONCE I would like to have a normal conversation with my PET-"  
  
Spinel Sun growled, the sound rumbling through his small form.  
  
The store attendant lifted her hands as a sign of peace. "Of course, ma'am." She apologized, looking flustered. And she turned around, quickly walking off.  
  
"The nerve!" Nakuru fumed. And she turned her attention to Spinel Sun once more. "We're not through here."  
  
Eriol finally wandered over, letting his fingers trail through the costumes in the store, soft and coarse material sliding through his grasp. "What's the problem now?" he asked, not that he really cared.  
  
"Suppi-chan scratched me!" Nakuru cried instantly.  
  
"Ask her why!" Spinel Sun demanded, fur rising once more.  
  
Eriol looked at Nakuru, eyebrows rising questioningly. There had to have been a good reason to have gotten Spinel Sun as worked up as he was. Nakuru was a natural pain in the ass but never to the point that Spinel Sun would attack her.   
  
Nakuru held up a costume wrapped up in plastic. "I thought he could wear this to Tomoyo-chan's party." She said innocently.  
  
At the sight of it Spinel Sun screeched, hopping off the bench and onto Eriol's shoulder, hiding along his neck.  
  
Eriol leaned forward, peering at the costume over his thin-framed glasses. "What...IS that?" he asked slowly.  
  
Nakuru smiled, practically blinding him. "It's a Three Little Pigs costume. He can be Sneezy, or Bashful. Or Horny. Or whatever their names were..." she turned the costume so that she could admire it and she sighed, looking as if she had found the Holy Grail.  
  
Eriol stared at her in complete and utter confusion. "The Seven Dwarves?" he asked succinctly.  
  
Nakuru threw the exact same look right back at him. "Didn't I just say Three Little Pigs?" she asked, feigning sweetness.  
  
Spinel Sun gave him a knowing look as he turned his head toward him slightly.   
  
Nakuru hummed to herself, studying the costume. "Your descendant can be the Big Bad Wolf." She said a moment later, motioning toward another costume stored in plastic. She reached out and deftly plucked it off the hanger, gazing at it. "Or maybe not even Three Little Pigs. Maybe we can find a Stinky Cheese Man costume in this store..." and she turned, wandering off with both costumes in hand.  
  
Spinel Sun hesitated a long moment before asking, "Did she mean the Gingerbread Man?"  
  
Eriol was too busy smiling. "How perfect that Xiao Lang would be the Big Bad Wolf..." he murmured, falling into step behind Nakuru.  
  
"Syaoran..." Spinel Sun corrected him.  
  
  
  
Syaoran looked around, eyes coming to rest on a clock hanging on the wall. She was ten minutes late and he had precious little time. Once Meilin got out of the closet she would be not only furious but no doubt in search of him. He bit his lip, looking around once more.  
  
Where WAS she?  
  
"Syaoran!"  
  
He whirled to see Sakura rushing toward him, an apologetic look on her face. "Gomen ne, Syaoran! I got stuck at home cleaning up after oni-chan!" she caught up to him and paused to inhale deeply.  
  
Syaoran took hold of her hand, scanning the mall. "Daidouji-san?" he asked instantly.  
  
Sakura continued to gasp but she motioned over toward an electronics store. "She checking out the latest models from her mother's company." She managed to wheeze out. "I think she may be there-"  
  
Syaoran hauled her along, heading toward the costume store.  
  
"...a while..."  
  
They took a turn through the doors and looked around. The store was crammed full of every type of costume, from the simple to the exotic. And Syaoran found himself looking at leather and whips as soon as he paused.  
  
BAD me. BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD...  
  
Sakura squealed and wormed out of his grasp to skip over to a rack of costumes. "Look, Syaoran!" she cried and she pulled on a perfectly decent Angel costume. "Isn't it pretty?"  
  
Syaoran wandered over and examined it. She could look like that if she called on Fly, he told himself. He pulled on the costume right next to it, a low cut She-Devil one. "I think this is better..." he replied absentmindedly, wondering what she would look like in it.  
  
Sakura gave him a sympathetic smile, her hair squeezing out a sweat drop. "Oh, really?"  
  
"Or maybe this one..." Syaoran murmured and he pulled on a black, pleather looking one labeled DOMINATRIX.  
  
"How about I sell you a nice BIG robe and let you live?" a cold voice said from behind and they both turned to the newcomer.  
  
Syaoran's face went blue as Kinomoto Touya glared at him. Touya lifted a hand to the costume Syaoran still held and then his eyes shifted toward him once more. "I really hope this was going to be YOUR costume..." he growled quietly.  
  
"Oni-chan? What are you doing here?" Sakura asked, obviously not noticing the awkwardness and fear slicing through the atmosphere. She motioned toward the Angel costume once more, "Isn't this pretty?"  
  
"I'm working." Touya answered in response to her first question. He snatched the costume out of Syaoran's grip, placing it back on the rack. "And yes, it's pretty. Now go home."  
  
Sakura looked at him, blinking wide eyes. "Hoe?"  
  
Syaoran was already halfway through turning to march out. But Sakura took hold of his arm, yanking him back. "I need to SHOP!" she said firmly. "Tomoyo-chan's party is-"  
  
"THERE you are!" Tomoyo's voice came from the door. "It wasn't nice AT ALL to leave me in there." And they looked toward the front to see Tomoyo standing there laden with boxes. "You know how the sales clerks get when they see me!"  
  
Touya turned away, walking off without another word. Syaoran allowed a breath to escape him finally as Sakura rushed over to help Tomoyo. Perhaps they should have tried another store...  
  
"SYAORAN!" screeched another very familiar voice and he instantly hit the ground, expecting bombs and missiles.  
  
"Syaoran?" Sakura asked, baffled. She walked over to him, setting down one of Tomoyo's shopping bags and hauling him to his feet. "You'll dirty your shirt like that-"  
  
A moment later Syaoran had a growth on his back as someone launched herself at him, embracing him. "Syaoran! That was so much fun! But don't forget that next time we play hide and seek, you have to FIND me after counting..."  
  
Sakura smiled cheerfully at Li Meilin as she hung on to Syaoran happily. "Konnichi wa, Meilin. How have you been?" She said sincerely.  
  
Meilin cast her a quick glare. "Konnichi wa, Kinomoto-san." She murmured under her breath and she released Syaoran only enough to loop both her arms through his.  
  
"Meilin..." Syaoran groaned. He could have sworn he had locked the door after discovering her hiding place in the closet.   
  
Tomoyo finally got a grip on all her things. "What are we here for?" she asked, wandering over toward them.  
  
"Looking for costumes for your party." Sakura said brightly and Syaoran stiffened.  
  
"Party?" Meilin echoed, looking at Syaoran with big eyes.   
  
Tomoyo smiled, tilting her head. "I'm having a party. A costume party. You're welcome to come." She said.  
  
Meilin nodded instantly, grip tightening on Syaoran.   
  
A happy squeal cut through the silence of the store. "EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! Touya-KUN!"  
  
The group turned to see Touya wheezing for a breath as Nakuru launched herself at him, hugging his neck from behind. "So THIS is where you keep yourself!" she shrieked shrilly.  
  
Eriol was watching the scene with his usual simple, 'I'll-let-you-get-away-with-it-just-this-once, only-because-I-rule-the-WORLD' smile. On his shoulder perched Spinel Sun, a sweat drop ready to drip right off his tiny head.  
  
Sakura smiled widely and skipped on over, pausing beside Eriol. "Eriol-kun! Here shopping for a costume?" she asked.  
  
Eriol looked at her, surprised, and then upon realizing it was her he nodded cheerfully. "Hai. I have no idea what to go as so I'm waiting to see how Nakuru and Spinel Sun come out." He motioned.  
  
Sakura nodded as Meilin came up dragging Syaoran. Eriol looked at her, eyebrows lifting when he didn't recognize her.  
  
"This is Li Meilin." Sakura said, officially taking it upon herself to introduce them. "She's Syaoran's cousin."  
  
"And fiancée." Meilin put in immediately, tightening her grip on Syaoran as she glared at Sakura once more.  
  
Eriol looked from Meilin to Sakura, who seemed oblivious. And he smiled slowly, a truly innocent smile. "Fiancée? How interesting..."  
  
Syaoran leveled a glare at him from his spot. He HATED that look Eriol got. It meant he was about to have a little fun. A little fun being perhaps Armageddon arriving early.  
  
"Well, since I've been invited I'm going to look for a costume over there. Come, Syaoran!" Meilin stated and she wandered off happily, dragging Syaoran behind her like a little puppy.  
  
"But, I was supposed to help Sakura-"  
  
"None of that! We need matching costumes and I made dinner, too! Wei put out the fire but the food is still edible and I made it with ALL my love so let's hurry!"  
  
The two of them went off to search the store.  
  
Eriol looked at Sakura, the same small smile on his face. "Fiancee?" he asked again and he glanced at Tomoyo.  
  
Sakura nodded. "Um-hmm." She murmured. And she looked around, scanning the racks. "Back to costume hunting!"  
  
"I already have mine." Nakuru said, coming back over. Behind her Touya was on the floor, unconscious.  
  
Sakura barely spared it a glance. "What are you going to be?" she asked Nakuru.  
  
"My costume is home. You'll see it the day of the party." And she smiled, beaming, hands clasping behind her back.  
  
"At home?" Spinel Sun sat up on Eriol's shoulder with a frown on his tiny, blue face. Then he blinked, expression becoming blank. "Oh, wait, I know what you're talking about..."  
  
"Mine is home as well, then." Eriol said after a moment of silence.  
  
Sakura looked sad. "Oooh...I was hoping I could shop with you all and find something. What will ~I~ be wearing then?" she asked, coming as close to possible as wailing.   
  
Tomoyo suddenly lifted a costume on a hanger, hopping up.  
  
Sakura looked at it and fell over, rocking the ground. "T...Tomoyo-chan!"  
  
Eriol leaned forward, light reflecting off his glasses and he examined the costume. A second later he lifted dark eyes to Tomoyo and blinked owlishly. "I see..." he murmured thoughtfully.  
  
Nakuru took the costume, trailing her fingers over the black material. "Is this leather?" she asked quizzically.  
  
"Pleather." Tomoyo smiled sweetly. "And look, the whip can be attached as a tail..."  
  
  
  
"How is this?" Meilin asked, holding the She-Devil up her body and turning to face him.  
  
Syaoran was looking back over towards Sakura and the group. "Hmm, nice..." he mumbled and he squinted, still facing their direction.  
  
"SYAORAN!" a punch caught him upside the head, sending him flying.   
  
He landed with a thump and immediately sat up, waving a fist at her. "OI, MEILIN!" he roared at her. And then he paused as she motioned with the costume again, tilting his head to get a better look. "Hmm...not bad..."  
  
Meilin jumped happily and rushed over to the counter, throwing down money. "Great! Now you!"  
  
Syaoran shook his head. "I was thinking about it and I'm probably going to go in my robes." He said with a shrug.  
  
Meilin looked at him distastefully. "The robes?"  
  
He nodded. "C'mon. Let's join the group again-" he turned to march right back over but she caught him by the collar and pulled him back.  
  
"No! We're going home." She stated and she stood on tiptoe to wave. "We're going home! Ja ne!" she called cheerfully to the group and she turned, dragging Syaoran off.  
  
"Hey!"  
  
  
  
"Tomoyo-chan, what about you?" Sakura asked as she paid for her costume. She tried to act nonchalant but she knew that Tomoyo was watching her and making sure she was buying the costume. Maybe if she could distract Tomoyo-chan long enough she could make a run for it and lie that she had dropped the costume on the way home...  
  
Tomoyo snatched the costume as she finished paying. "I'LL hold it for you." She said smiling a bit maniacally.  
  
Sakura feigned gratefulness. "A-Arigato..."  
  
Tomoyo added the bag to her boxes and lifted them all easily. Sakura's jaw hit the floor and she politely lifted it back up and set it into place once more. "My costume is at home, halfway done." She said with a shrug.  
  
Eriol smiled at them as they looked at him. "Spinel Sun and I will be going home soon." He said, motioning to his shoulder, "We just need to finish shopping for Nakuru-" He paused at the looks Tomoyo and Sakura gave him. "What is it?" he asked.  
  
Sakura motioned to his shoulder slowly.  
  
Eriol looked over and realized right then and there that his shoulder was bare of Cat. "Spinel Sun..."  
  
A cat screeched from the back of the store, drawing their attention. Behind a circular rack of hanging clothes, Nakuru's hair was visible as were some of her movements. Puffs of black fur were flying, floating through the air around her and after a moment she shrieked happily and lifted what seemed to be a chicken bare of feathers between her hands. "Suppi-chan can go as a PLUCKED KITTY!"   
  



	3. Preparation

Preparation  
  
"So...Yue-san is going as himself?" Sakura asked Kero and she fluffed her hair, examining herself in the mirror.  
  
"Yue-san is contemplating death as we speak." Kero replied, small body hovering beside her.  
  
Sakura laughed. "Kero-chan, you're so mean."  
  
Keroberos, the Great Guardian of the Seal, as he called himself, didn't bother to add that he was serious. The look on Yue-san's usual calm face...well, the expression had remained the same. Yue-san's expressions were all of two. One was the usual mask of boredom. No doubt when the world ended he might crack a smile. But not before. The other expression was one of mild anger. He usually pulled out that one when his face started freezing in the bored one.  
  
One couldn't have TOO much exercise.  
  
Sakura finished primping herself and finally looked at herself. And once more she paused, hand halfway down her side. Tight pleather clad her entire sixteen year old figure, cutting off at the neck. The whip had indeed doubled as a tail and she had stuck it on, allowing it to drag on the floor behind her. A cat mask covered her eyes, short hair falling loose.  
  
She realized right then and there that she couldn't deal.  
  
"Oh, NOOOO..." she scrambled for her key. The situation could be remedied, right then and there. Just had to call on Fly reeeeeeal quick...  
  
"FREEZE!" Kero-chan shouted and he flew at her, chomping down on her right index finger.  
  
"AAAARGH! Kero-CHAN!"  
  
"If ~I~ can't be ME, you have to be THAT!" he ordered from around her finger which was soaked in Guardian saliva.  
  
Sakura shrieked angrily at him, shaking her finger. "I DON'T WANT TO-"  
  
Kero bit harder, growling like an abandoned kitten protecting his food.  
  
"YAMETE!" Sakura shouted and she swung her hand, flinging him onto her bed. With a pout she turned away to nurse her finger.  
  
A knock sounded at the door. "Sakura?" came Touya's voice, "Who are you yelling at?"  
  
Sakura paled for all of a moment. And then, with an absolutely wicked idea popping into her head she snatched Kero back off the bed, stifling his wail with her other hand. "Now we'll see who is the Card Mistress here." She said coldly. And she flung open the door.  
  
Touya was looking suspicious at the door and he scanned the room quickly, settling only when he realized it was empty. He slowly looked back at her, loosening up and then he REALLY looked at her.  
  
"What are you WEARING?!" he cried and he clamped a hand over his eyes quickly.  
  
"My costume." Sakura answered, making sure she was suffocating Kero-chan.  
  
"I NOTICED!" he shouted. He turned his head away, hand still over his eyes. "Who were you yelling at?"  
  
"Kero-chan." She answered with a simple shrug.  
  
"Kero-chan?" her brother echoed and he peeked out from in between two fingers.  
  
"Kero-chan." She said again and she held him out, fingers curled around his little body. "I was working out some anger." And as if to prove her point she turned and flung Kero at the far wall. She was almost positive she heard him squeak. Then he hit the wall and slid to the floor.  
  
Touya blinked owlishly, from the fallen stuffed animal to Sakura, who was diving across the room after the toy with what sounded suspiciously much like a karate shout. "Hiiiiiii-YAAAAAAAAAAA!"  
  
"Um...Sakura..."  
  
She ignored him, grabbing the doll by the legs and smacking his upper body against the wall repeatedly. "Kero-chan's been a BAD boy! BAD!" she shouted, emphasizing each word with a thump.  
  
Touya allowed it to go on, marveling at this new side to his sister.  
  
"Kero-chan will never EVER again order Sakura around! RIGHT?!" she demanded and she grabbed him by one foot and began to swing him, aiming for the window.  
  
"Kero-chan orders you around?" Touya asked in sudden interest.   
  
Sakura didn't answer, obviously busy trying to figure out what angle best to fling Kero without damaging the house.  
  
Touya shrugged after another moment. "Don't break the windows." Was all he said and he turned and left, footsteps echoing down the hall.  
  
Sakura continued to swing for another moment. And she suddenly noticed that Kero was getting heavier. "Hoooee?"  
  
A moment later feathers exploded, flinging Sakura back. She hit the floor hard, caught off guard. When next she looked up, Keroberos, Guardian of the Seal, Bringer of Destruction and Heinous Cat Breath stood before her, tail swinging lazily.  
  
"Sakura-chan..." he purred, studying her hungrily. "Do you know what I do to little Card Mistresses who anger me?"  
  
Sakura blinked at him. "You've hard more than one?" she asked innocently.  
  
She shrieked as he lunged at her.  
  
  
  
Eriol looked at himself in the mirror, thoughts elsewhere. He wore his usually dark clothes, heavy cloak falling around him. He should wear his head ornament as well but it was so big it took all his strength just to hold his head straight. He decided against it being on his head. If anything he would carry it.  
  
"Suppi-chan, it was a JOKE!" Nakuru shouted and she suddenly slid down the staircase banister, long maroon hair flowing behind her. Eriol glared at her as she slid to a stop and stayed seated at the foot of the railing, blinking wide eyes at him.  
  
"The banister." He said simply and he turned away, back to the mirror. In the reflection he saw Spinel Sun in his true form, lean strong body jumping onto the banister as well.  
  
Nakuru jumped down and spun towards Spinel Sun who came sliding down the railing. "OFF THE BANISTER!" she yelled at him. "Don't we teach you ANYTHING?"  
  
Spinel Sun came flying off the banister, crashing headfirst into Nakuru and, with a surprised squeal from Ruby Moon, "EEEEEEEEK!" they both toppled, sliding across the floor and into the living room.  
  
Eriol sighed inwardly, fixing his costume. Maybe he and Sakura could switch Guardians for the night. He would much rather put up with Keroberos and Yue-san.  
  
The doorbell suddenly chimed and he looked up, surprised. On the floor in the living room Nakuru glanced up as well, one fist shoved in between Spinel Sun's jaws, the other yanking on his newly grown fur.  
  
"Who, in the name of the Moon, is that?" Spinel Sun asked around Nakuru's hand.  
  
Eriol went to the door and answered it, staring at the visitor in confusion. "Yue-san?"  
  
Yue, Judge of the Cards, did not look happy. And Eriol could not find it in himself to be surprised. He invited the Judge in wordlessly, stepping aside.   
  
Without a word himself, Yue entered, long white hair floating behind him. His blank blue-gray eyes scanned the front hallway, catching sight of Nakuru underneath Spinel Sun in the living room. "Are you in that much need of attention?" he asked Nakuru quietly, arms crossing over his chest.  
  
Spinel Sun slowly detached himself from Nakuru's fist, stepping back and seating himself politely on his hind quarters. Nakuru rose to her feet and then began to walk over toward him, flicking her braid over her shoulder and pretending not to notice when it caught Spinel Sun upside his snout, effectively tossing him aside.  
  
"What are you doing here, Yue-san?" she asked, one hand rising to rest on her hip.  
  
"The Mistress is expecting me to go to this little costume party of hers." He answered with a shrug.  
  
Eriol remained silent, not caring one way or the other.   
  
"But the party isn't being held HERE, Yue-san." Nakuru said with feigned cheerfulness.  
  
Yue's expression was the one of boredom. "I'm quite aware of that." He stated. "However, the Mistress and Keroberos have gotten into a little tangle so they suggested I come here and go accompany your group."  
  
Nakuru smiled, tilting her head. "I see." she said.  
  
Eriol looked from one to the other. "Yes, well, so do I. We're leaving now." He looked toward the living room. "Spinel Sun."  
  
The beast came out of the living room, a band-aid across his black snout. "I'm here."  
  
"Wonderful." Eriol opened the door. "After you."  
  



	4. Arrival

Arrival

"OI! MEILIN!"

Syaoran choked on his collar as Meilin dragged him across the asphalt up to Tomoyo's front door. She seemed like such a small thing, Syaoran would have to thank Wei-san once more for making her into what she was.

Perhaps firing him would do the trick...

Meilin's outfit was definitely something though, he had to admit. It had been a dress, tattered fashionably at the bottom and low cut to accentuate the...erm, chest area. Small horns had come with the costume, attached to a headband that vanished into her long dark hair and to complete the look Meilin had put in red contact lenses. Or rather, he thought she had. But then again, whenever she got mad at him her eyes flared that same red color...

"Meilin-chan! Li-kun! You made it!" Tomoyo cried happily from the door as she admitted more party-goers. She was dressed in a small tight black leather skirt, black knee-high boots, a low cut shirt also. Thick black bands surrounded her neck and wrists, shiny spikes attached.

Meilin hopped up, smiling cheerfully. "Nice outfit, Tomoyo-chan! What are you supposed to be? A hooker?"

Tomoyo frowned, looking let down. "A street thug. Look, I even have a nice small retractable razor..."

Meilin squealed happily, gushing over the new toy and Syaoran looked over his shoulder, thankful that he was at least breathing normally again. A moment later he cursed as he caught sight of Eriol coming up the walkway. Yue-san floated behind him, expression cold enough to freeze ice. Or bore it to death, maybe. Nakuru was yanking on Spinel Sun's head, trying to drag him up the walk but the dark Guardian was fighting, his rear so close to the floor he was practically sitting.

He knew the feeling...

"Xiao Lang." Eriol said, smiling at him innocently. "Good to see you made it."

Syaoran feigned a smile. He could do it just as well as he could, playing innocent.

"Eriol-kun!" Tomoyo said, turning her attention to him. "You look..." she cocked her head. "Well, normal." And she looked at the Guardians, barely paying attention to the fact that Nakuru was practically wrestling with Spinel Sun. "Konban wa, everyone!"

"The Card Mistress?" Yue inquired.

"She's not here yet." Tomoyo answered and she stepped away from the door. "Please, come in." She gestured.

The group of them entered the house, pausing inside the immediate hallway. Streamers and decorations were hung up, tables set aside everywhere with people serving drinks. The music wasn't as loud as one would have expected, and chatter was audible everywhere.

"So, of COURSE I bought the house, it was going for so cheap..."

"Not ONLY did he make me dinner but he FED it to me! Like I were some kind of dog! I love a man who cooks but PLEASE!"

"No, my wife works late tonight. What's say you and me go back to my place after this shindig?"

"And then after I string you up I'm going to undress you sloooooowly...and I'm going to pour melting hot wax all OVER you..."

Syaoran turned at that last one, eyebrows arching and he wound around Meilin, looking for the speaker. Meilin hardly noticed, her hand wrapped around the small knife Tomoyo had shown her earlier. She scratched the last few letters of her name into the wood of the doorframe before pocketing it and glancing around.

"Syaoran?" she asked, noticing his sudden absence.

She encountered only Yue who looked not only bored and out of place but the slightest bit psychotic. He floated over towards a table and stared at the small woman behind the punchbowl. 

"Punch?" she asked cheerfully.

He gazed at her some more, even cocking his head at her after a moment. His gray eyes bore into her face, barely blinking.

"No punch?" she asked, her optimism draining away with every second he continued to look at her. She already had the cup filled and was holding it out but now she started pulling her hand back.

Yue wordlessly held out his hand before him.

She quickly deposited the cup into his hand, recoiling as soon as he had a grip on it. With another long look he turned away, lifting the cup to his lips.

"Yue-san, you drink?" Tomoyo asked, hopping up to him.

He looked down at her, giving her the exact same expression he had given the woman behind the table. "This has liquor?" he inquired thoughtfully and he peered at the red punch some more.

Tomoyo blinked. "No, I mean...you drink? Literally?"

Yue gave her the same look once more before lifting the cup to his lips and downing the punch. He tasted it, pausing for several moments afterward and then the bored expression gave way to one of distaste. "This is hideous." He replied. And he nodded once before turning away from her and heading back toward the table. "I think I'll have some more..."

The doorbell rang at that precise moment and Tomoyo wandered over to it, trying to lower the hem of her skirt to at least cover her hips. With an impatient exhalation she opened the door. "Ah! Sakura-chan!" she cried happily upon seeing her friend outside.

Sakura entered timidly, light bouncing off the pleather cat suit she wore, her whip-tail dragging behind her. Keroberos also entered, already made up in his true form. 

"You look great!" Tomoyo crowed, closing the door behind them. She motioned further into the house. "Almost everyone is here! Li-kun and Meilin-chan are here but Li-kun went off somewhere without her so she's not in a good mood, watch out. Eriol-kun also wandered off, I didn't see where he went but he made sure NOT to take along Nakuru and Suppi-chan so don't trip over any of them. And Yue-san is getting to know Helen." She motioned toward the punch table where Yue was once again glaring at the poor woman behind the table. Tomoyo paused, studying them. "They make a cute couple actually..."

At that point Helen burst into tears and fled, hair flying behind her shrieking frame. Yue looked after her for all of a moment before helping himself to the punch bowl.

Nakuru popped out of the side room at that moment, Spinel Sun at her heels. She giggled merrily, sliding as she paused before Sakura. "Konban wa, Sakura-chan!" she cried, lifting hands to pinch Sakura's cheeks tightly. And then her eyes caught on Sakura's whip and she reached behind, taking hold of it. "I used to have one just like this!" she cried, eyes shining.

"A whip?" Sakura asked reluctantly. She was not surprised that Nakuru was a freak.

"Not a whip." Nakuru giggled for a moment. "A TAIL." And she paused thoughtfully. "Although I used to have a WIDE collection of whips too, at one point in my life." She glanced at Tomoyo. "Almost as wide as yours."

Tomoyo already had stars in her eyes.

"I need to borrow this." Nakuru finished and she yanked the tail off Sakura. Sakura jumped as if struck and she reached behind, massaging her rear with a frown. Nakuru wrapped a piece of the whip around her fist, holding it and snapping it as if it were a towel. "Where did Suppi-chan run off to?"

Directly next to her Spinel Sun's ears rose, twitching, and he took off in the opposite direction, running for his life.

"Bet you wish you were one of the Three Little Pigs now, don't you!" Nakuru taunted, racing after him.

Sakura still rubbed her butt, wincing. "There was a backlash when she pulled it off..." she explained to Tomoyo who was looking at her with a strange interest.

"Did you enjoy it?" Tomoyo inquired.

Sakura blinked at her wordlessly before managing a smile and backing away. "I think I'm going to go find Syaoran now..." she said slowly and she took hold of Kero's ear, yanking him with her and muttering, "Run for it."

Keroberos nodded, turned, and fled.

"Wait for ME!" Sakura hollered indignantly, running after him.

A moment later Syaoran came from the opposite direction, a cup of blue punch in his grasp. He looked at Tomoyo who was standing in the middle of the hallway thoughtfully. "Yo, Daidouji-san." He said, stopping before her.

She continued to stare, gaze blank.

Syaoran sweat dropped and lifted a hand, shaking it before her face. "Moshi moshi…" he said, smiling sympathetically.

Tomoyo lifted her gaze, focusing on him finally. And a truly evil smile crossed her face. "Ah, Li-kun." She said, cocking her head. She grabbed hold of his hand, almost upsetting his cup of punch. "I have an idea you will absolutely love."

And she dragged him away, towards the back.


	5. The Haunting

The Haunting  
  
Nakuru looked both ways of the hallway and then waddled forth from the room, trusty whip in hand. Spinel Sun had escaped her yet again. But she would find him. She had a lesson to teach him.  
  
From a darkened corner there was the slightest movement and she paused, looking there for a moment but then trying to play it off like she hadn't heard anything. She rose to her full height, turning to go down the opposite way and then she spun around and snapped the whip at the movement, grinning evilly.  
  
"HEY!" came in indignant voice that did not sound like Spinel Sun. Nakuru stared, jaw dropping open as Meilin's figure formed from the shadow and, oooh, her eyes were RED with anger.  
  
Nakuru pointed at her, suddenly smiling. "You're that girl that I don't really know." She said cheerfully, winding the whip to lie at her feet.  
  
Out from behind Meilin came Eriol.  
  
Nakuru's cheerfulness popped like a balloon. "ERIOL!" she gasped, hand lifting to her chest in utter disbelief.   
  
"Meilin was helping me adjust my robes-" he began, eyes innocent as he motioned toward the Chinese girl with the red eyes. "They came loose and-"  
  
Nakuru giggled suddenly, turned and ran down the hallway, maroon hair flying behind her. "I'm telling Daidouji-san! I'm telling Daidouji-san!" she sang as she fled.  
  
Meilin frowned after her. "Telling Tomoyo-chan what?" she inquired, glancing back at Eriol. He shrugged at her in confusion before looking back down at the hem of his robes.   
  
"Are you done?" he asked, examining the material.  
  
Meilin nodded. "Yup. Nothing a good pin or two can't handle." She replied and she wandered off, leaving Eriol to himself.  
  
  
  
"Where are we?" Syaoran asked as Tomoyo led him down yet another hallway. "And how big is your house, exactly?"  
  
There was a strange smile on Tomoyo's face. "Big enough that I got lost for a whole day when I was younger." She said sweetly and they walked up another staircase, winding towards yet another floor.  
  
"And you're going to show me what?" He asked her, hands pressing to large stone bricks as the walked. She had done a damn good job doing this place up for the party. There was definitely an eerie feeling all around. Even the torches in the corridor seemed awfully real.  
  
"This room I keep all my junk in." she replied.  
  
Syaoran glanced over his shoulder, looking back down toward the way they had come. "Um...why?" he inquired.  
  
"Because my stuff will play a pivotal role in bringing you and Sakura-chan together." She sighed and he was blinded in the darkness by the stars that suddenly came into her eyes.  
  
"I...see..." was all he muttered.  
  
They finally reached another landing and there was a single door all the way at the bottom, against the far wall. Windows lined the entire corridor on their left side, admitting moonlight. Syaoran peeked out for all of a second and then frowned, realizing the ground was pretty far down. Tomoyo's house didn't look this big from outside. And why hadn't he ever noticed a part of the house that had windows lining the entire hallway? It would have been visible from outside.  
  
"You know, a long time ago," Tomoyo began, as they reached the door. She pulled out an old-looking set of keys and inserted one of them into the lock of the door, "my mother told me a ghost story about this young man who fell in love with this girl. And he would do anything for her, even brave the girl's haunted house to see her."  
  
Syaoran felt a strange squirming in his stomach as he looked out the windows once more.  
  
"And one day the boy came to see her and he was led by one of the girl's sisters to this exact room which at the time was the girl's bedroom..."  
  
Syaoran gulped, feeling panic begin to take over. "Oh, really? This is the exact same house?" he asked, voice squeaking. He cleared his throat and tried to put up a front.  
  
"Hai. The sister led him to the room and he walked in to find his true love dead, hanging from the ceiling." Tomoyo explained, still fiddling with the lock. It finally sprang and she shoved with what seemed to be all her might. The door swung open with a creak, leading into blackness.  
  
Tomoyo turned to look at him. And she smiled, showing off perfect white teeth. "Come on." She invited, taking a step into the room.  
  
Syaoran followed, suddenly realizing he was scared out of his mind. He stuck close to her as she paused right inside the room and suddenly his vision adjusted to the blackness and he saw a beautiful bedroom, a long bed with satin sheets and a canopy overhead, misty curtains framing it. Wooden closets and drawers completed the bedroom along with an old oval portrait hanging on the opposite wall. "Daidouji-san, who is that woman-" he asked, pointing at the portrait. It resembled Sakura the slightest bit in the reddish hair and sweet looking expression. He turned to look at Tomoyo as his question was left hanging in the air.  
  
He was alone in the room. He frowned, cocking his head and peeking back out the door. "Daidouji-san?" he asked slowly.  
  
The door suddenly moved, swinging shut and missing his nose by centimeters. He recoiled, stiffening, and caught sight of a misty figure before him.   
  
"My love, you've come for me at last!" the figure cried and she came forth, red-brown hair flowing around her face, long slender arms reaching for him. Her feet didn't touch the ground, he realized a moment later.  
  
He took a step back as she lunged at him and then started shrieking as her face melted away, leaving behind a grinning skull.  
  
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!"  
  
  
  
Sakura lifted her head. She could have sworn she had heard a scream echo throughout the house. She glanced at Keroberos but he was lapping up punch out of her cup...  
  
"HEY!" she shouted indignantly, pulling her cup away. "Gross! Who KNOWS where your tongue has been!"  
  
He threw her a glare. "In my mouth, where else?"  
  
With a look she held out the cup once more. Better to just let him finish it than finish it herself. But as he leaned forward once more, tongue unrolling, she swiped it back and stuck her tongue out at him. "Let's hear you beg..." she sang.  
  
And she began to back away, luring him toward one of the punch tables.  
  
At the table already, Yue was scooping up the last bit of punch. He frowned when he couldn't get the last bit at the bottom before finally lifting the whole bowl to his lips.  
  
"Y-Yue-san!" Sakura gasped, catching sight of him.  
  
He lowered the bowl and then delicately wiped a small drop of red punch from the lip. "Yes?"  
  
Sakura blinked at him wordlessly before shrugging. "Forget it. I'll just get some more elsewhere..."  
  
"But that's the only table where the punch was spiked." Keroberos said, sounding very much like he was about to whine.  
  
"Hooooeeeeeeeeeee?" Sakura asked, gaping at him. Beside her Yue also gave him the same look of surprise. And then he set down the bowl and backed up a step.  
  
"I will find another one." He stated, floating off.  
  
Sakura stared after him and then looked back at the empty bowl.   
  
Tomoyo floated up, comforting Helen, the poor woman who had originally been working the punch table. "Oh, Helen, it's all right." She comforted the woman. "I WARNED you to stop the devil worshipping. Now you're paranoid around everyone."  
  
"But his eyes..." Helen sobbed. "They were so cold and he kept STARING at me..."  
  
Tomoyo nodded as if she understood, reached into her shirt and pulled a tissue out of her bra. "It's ok..." she said, handing the tissue to the distraught woman.  
  
Helen blew her nose loudly, still weeping. "And then he didn't say a WORD, just STARED at me more...and he kept coming BACK!"  
  
"For punch, I know..."  
  
Sakura took a step forward and peered at her friend. "Tomoyo-chan? Sumimasen..." she murmured to Helen and looked at Tomoyo. "Have you seen Syaoran?"  
  
"Li-kun?" Tomoyo asked. "He arrived already?"  
  
Sakura frowned at her. "Yes, you said he was here already." She replied, staring at her strangely.  
  
Tomoyo gave her the same look right back, not flinching in the least when a whip sounded in the background followed by a flash of ruby red light. "No, I didn't. I was helping my mother in the back the whole time. I ran into poor Helen trying to drown herself in un-spiked punch and I've been with her the rest of the time." And she paused. "In fact, when did YOU get here?"  
  



	6. Lost In A Haunted House

Lost In A Haunted House  
  
Yue looked up from the bowl of blue-colored punch and stared into the eyes of a young woman.  
  
The woman smiled at him, just as cheerfully as the first one had. "Hi. Punch?" she inquired.  
  
He glared at her.  
  
The woman slowly frowned and then glanced around, looking the lightest bit uncomfortable. No one was around and when she looked at Yue again she asked faintly, "Are you the guy who did in Helen?"  
  
Yue held out his hand to her.  
  
The woman paled, swallowing. "Look, you and I, we can handle this. No one has to know. I won't say nothin', I SWEAR it! Just...don't LOOK at me..."  
  
Yue tilted his head. "Is this punch...spiked?" he asked quietly.  
  
She looked like she was ready to cry. "No. BUT! But, I can change that! I can just go over to Sonomi-san and find some alcohol, I can!" she whispered hoarsely.  
  
Yue slowly shook his head and gazed at her. "I'm afraid not..." he murmured softly. And he reached out towards her punch bowl, fingers wrapping around its rim.  
  
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!"  
  
  
  
Eriol bumped into Sakura, falling back a bit. "Ah, gomen, Sakura-chan." He said, looking the slightest bit confused.  
  
Sakura peeked out from behind the potted plant she had managed to hide behind. "It's ok, Eriol-kun." She whispered and she slithered back further into her spot.  
  
Eriol paused, merely staring at her for a moment. "Sakura-chan...why are you hiding?" he asked slowly.  
  
Sakura peeked out once more, lifting a finger to her lips. "I'm hiding from Tomoyo-chan." She confided in a stage whisper. "She's acting a bit...strange..."  
  
Eriol nodded in understanding. "SHE is." He stated sounding the slightest bit sarcastic.  
  
Sakura looked around quickly and rose to her full height. "See, I came in and she told me that Syaoran was here already. But then later when I asked where he had gone she said she didn't remember ever even SAYING anything to me at all. She wasn't even aware you guys had shown up."  
  
Eriol frowned. "Daidouji-san?" he asked as if to confirm.  
  
Sakura nodded solemnly.  
  
Eriol blinked, confused. "But...she let us in when we first arrived." He murmured softly and he looked over to where he had seen Tomoyo standing only moments ago. The punch table had been cleared up and now a new woman was there, politely handing out cups of punch.  
  
"I'm getting a bad feeling." Sakura said softly.  
  
A whip snapped close by, causing Sakura to jump. A moment later Spinel Sun flew by, tail tucked between his legs and Nakuru followed, seemingly having stolen a cowboy hat from another party-goer for one rested on top of her head of burgundy red hair. "Hi-yoooooooooooooooooo, Silver! Awwaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyy!!" she cried gleefully, swinging the whip around as if it were a lasso.  
  
Sakura looked at Eriol, a sweat drop falling down the side of her head. "Will you come with me to find Syaoran?" she asked him.  
  
He nodded. "Of course." He replied.  
  
  
  
Meilin looked around, confused out of her mind. She had to pee REALLY bad and there was no bathroom in sight. She stopped in the middle of the hallway and clenched her thighs together, pushing down on her bladder.  
  
Damn Yue and his spiked punch.  
  
For a moment she wondered if the alcohol in the punch was getting to her for the hallway seemed to shift the slightest bit. She blinked, leaning against the wall heavily and then looked again.  
  
The hallway was back to normal but now at the end there was a door, wooden and old-looking.  
  
"You don't look like a bathroom but I REALLY need to use you if are." She muttered and she staggered over to it, knees pressed tightly together. The door seemed to get older and uglier the closer she got to it and once she stood right before it she started wondering if she should just have checked another floor.  
  
"Oh, damn it, what the HELL." She said impatiently and she reached for the doorknob. Only to discover there was none. She frowned and looked again, hand patting the wood. "Oh, give me a BREAK!" she growled. She lifted her fist and punched the door furiously, the bang echoing throughout the hallway. "Let me IN! I gotta GO!" she shouted, smashing the side of her fist against the door with each outburst.  
  
For a moment there was nothing except the echoing of the bangs as they floated down the hallway. And then, with a sudden rush of wind came a low, furious voice.   
  
"GEEEEEEEEEEEEEET OOOOOOOOOOOOOOUT!"  
  
Meilin blinked, fist halfway to the door once more to pound. And with a small shrug, heart in her mouth, she said, "Ok." And fled, running down the hallway as if pursued by the demons of hell.  
  
  
  
Syaoran pounded on the door, sweat dripping down the sides of his face. "Meilin! MEILIN!" he shouted, listening for her knocks again. He had just heard her, right outside, and now it was as if he had imagined it all. "MEILIN!"  
  
The girl was still in the room with him and he looked over his shoulder at her, swallowing.  
  
"She won't hear you." The girl said sadly. "They never hear."  
  
Syaoran frowned. "Meilin hears if I BREATHE." He muttered, turning to the door once more.  
  
"You've been nothing but disrespectful since you got here!" the girl cried and when he turned she was back to looking like the skeleton he had first encountered.   
  
He jumped, plastering himself against the door as she floated up to him.  
  
"Do you KNOW how long I've been here?" she demanded, her voice coming out of the open jaws of the skull. "Hell, not even ~I~ know how long I've been here! And I never get ANY visitors! Do you know why I'm LOCKED here?"  
  
Syaoran swallowed again. "Probably because your mom didn't want to associate herself with you due to lack of SKIN?" he asked innocently, hands reaching behind for the doorknob once more. What was the USE? Every time he looked he didn't encounter one.  
  
The girl literally shrieked at him, the room shaking with her anger. "NO, BAKA!" she shouted. "I'm here because they locked me in and they left me to DIE!" she floated backward, hands crossing over her bony breastplate. "Couldn't they have stuck someone fairly INTELLIGENT in here with me?" she asked rhetorically.  
  
Syaoran frowned. "Wait. Are you the girl from the story?"  
  
The skeleton swiveled to look at him. "Story?" she asked, sounding eager. "They have a story on me already?"  
  
Syaoran paused thoughtfully. "Well, Daidouji-san was telling me about this girl who was in love with some guy and he came to visit her all the time in her haunted house-"  
  
The girl shrieked once more, throwing up bony arms. "They didn't even get the STORY right!" she wailed. "How can the house have been HAUNTED if I hadn't DIED yet??"  
  
Syaoran paused. "Eh?"  
  
The skeleton lifted her hands almost in a sign of peace. "He did NOT come to visit me! His MOTHER made him come see me! We were betrothed and he didn't even LIKE me! Which was more than I could say for him because he was just damn BORING! Always talking about himself. 'I am the richest bachelor in this town.' Or 'When I get married my wife will have NONE of my money.' What a self-absorbed..." she broke off and sighed. "Anyway, one day he came to see me and he was drunk out of his mind! He kept saying something about how he was going to go away and never see me again. I was absolutely HEARTBROKEN of course. I practically packed his bags for him and wished him off. But then he said he couldn't leave until I was out of the way."  
  
Syaoran frowned, lips parting and he took a step toward her, not noticing the outward appearance anymore.  
  
"What...happened?"  
  
The skeleton seemed to shift and slowly, the girl's original appearance took over, red hair falling around green eyes. "He killed me. He poisoned me, strung me up in this room and left me for dead." She shrugged. "I fought it for a while. Even hanging by my neck I was so MAD I didn't DIE. But then the poison took over and I got HUNGRY and NO ONE came to feed me, which really sucked because I was locked in anyway."  
  
Syaoran arched an eyebrow.  
  
"But after a while, the world went black. And I saw my entire life flash before my eyes and I'm thinking, 'This is IT! I'm going to DIE! YAY!'" she sighed. "Nope. I woke up and I'm STILL here. What a lousy hell. I know hell is supposed to suck but this is just plain CRUEL." She turned away and floated over to the bed, throwing herself upon it. "What I didn't know at the time was that he was this big magic user. He put up this spell around the room so I'm basically stuck here for all of eternity. No one knows this room exists, no one knows it's even here. The house was torn down a while ago and then another was put up in its place and no one knows I'm here. Which is cool for me because now I have a new friend." And she spared him a quick glance.  
  
Syaoran stared at her for all of a moment. And then he shook his head and turned back to the door, resuming his frantic pounding. "Oh, noooooooooo. Let me OUT! HELP!!"  
  



	7. Searching For the Lost Soul

Searching For The Lost Soul  
  
  
Sakura looked down the hallway, Eriol close to her side. "I don't see anyone." She murmured, eyes catching on the door all the way at the end of the hall. How strange, she didn't know Tomoyo-chan had such a large house. And it was an eerie hallway too. Nice windows on the side but much too dark, the only light being the moonlight drifting in. Somewhere far off she heard the faint sound of wind rushing and tiles creaking.  
  
Eriol didn't reply, eyes focused distantly.  
  
"Come on, maybe he's down this way. We can't climb up any higher and he wasn't on any of the floors below..." She took hold of his hand and dragged him down the hall firmly. "Once I get my hands on him I'm going to-"  
  
"Going to what?" Nakuru asked in a whisper, close to her ears. And as Sakura jumped ten feet in the air she giggled, hand on her cowboy hat. At her side was Spinel Sun, looking spanked and ready for more.  
  
Sakura fumed, seeing the whip and taking it from her. "I've seen the destruction you've caused with this!" she said, shaking a finger at her. "Nakuru, how horrible of you! LOOK at poor Spinel Sun!"  
  
Spinel Sun looked up at the mention of his name, puffs of his hair flying around as he licked himself clean.  
  
"His hair was falling out before I ever touched him." Nakuru said innocently. "Old age and all that..."  
  
Sakura glared before turning around and moving to continue down the hallway.  
  
And once more they were stopped, Tomoyo's voice echoing down the hallway. "Sakura-chan! Minna! Did you all find Li-kun?"  
  
Sakura jumped once more, clutching Eriol's hand so tight she feared for a moment she could very well break it. And she turned to face Tomoyo. "Tomoyo-CHAN!" she hissed, face pale. "Don't DO that!"  
  
"Do what?"  
  
"Scare her like that." Eriol supplied and he was dragged along as Sakura once more resumed walking down the hallway.  
  
Tomoyo shrugged at Nakuru who merely smiled at her mischievously. And then she looked around, eyes wide but not really surprised. "Um...where are we?"  
  
That caused EVERYONE to stop.   
  
"Hoooeeee?"  
  
Tomoyo lifted both eyebrows, repeating her question. "Where are we?" she asked. "This isn't my house anymore."  
  
"And yet she doesn't look the least bit surprised." Nakuru mused.  
  
Sakura frowned at her friend. "Tomoyo-chan, what are you talking about? Of COURSE this is still your house." She said slowly.  
  
Tomoyo looked around once more, finger lifting to her chin as she observed the hallway. And after another moment she looked down once more. "No, I tried to believe it was my house but it really isn't." she said with a small shrug as if to say, 'Soooooooooorryyyyyyyyy.'  
  
Sakura blinked in complete and utter confusion and then looked at Nakuru beside her.  
  
"She's YOUR friend." Nakuru said, hands up in a sign of, '~I~ don't know her...'  
  
A breeze swept through the corridor suddenly and everyone looked up towards the windows. They were all closed though, rusted shut.  
  
"You don't clean much up here, do you?" Eriol observed.  
  
"Of course not." Tomoyo said innocently. "Probably because this isn't my HOUSE."  
  
Sakura sighed. "This is getting us nowhere. We have to find Syaoran because I am getting a really bad feeling about this! So can we please check out this place at the end of the hallway and then we'll go right back." She looked from face to face, and after a moment agreement registered on all of them. "Good, let's go." And she turned and took a few steps toward the door.  
  
A soft howl rose in the hallway then, causing her to stop in mid-step. "Suppi-chan! NOT cute!" she admonished, refusing to turn to look at the Guardian.  
  
"It wasn't me!"  
  
And then from behind came Nakuru's voice suddenly. "Look out!"  
  
Sakura felt a hand shove her and Eriol's hand was ripped from her grasp. With a positively frightened shriek she hit the ground and instantly rolled over in time to see Nakuru pull Eriol back, one arm around his waist. Mist swept passed them, separating her from the rest of the group and she heard them shouting vaguely through it.  
  
"What IS that?!"  
  
"Oh my GOD!"  
  
"I think it's got me!"  
  
"Is that CHICKEN I smell?"  
  
There came the shriek of grinding stone and she heard Tomoyo screaming her head off, Eriol shouting to her. And then their voices got distant, as if they were falling, until the cries faded away to nothingness.  
  
"Spinel Sun! It took him!" Nakuru shouted through the mist and a ruby beam suddenly cut through, practically burning off hairs on Sakura's head as it shot by her face. "EAT THAT, YOU! Damn it, where is my trusty WHIP?"  
  
Sakura looked down at the whip in her hand and instantly flung it into the mist, towards her voice.  
  
"OW!" came Nakuru's voice again, sounding just the slightest bit irritated. And then, "OOOH! My WHIP!" There were scuffling sounds and then more grinding stones until she heard Nakuru again, along with snappings of the whip. "Suppi-chan! It's got me, too!"  
  
"For the last time, don't CALL me that!"  
  
"Spinel SUN!" Nakuru shouted angrily and her voice came from the side, close to the wall. Sakura tried to follow it, standing quickly, and she heard the sound of the whip striking the floor once more. "Damn it, Suppi-chan! If it's taking me then you are coming WITH me!"  
  
"Hey! NO! Let GO-"  
  
The scuffling sounds came once more, also becoming suddenly distant. Sakura took a step into the mist, swiping frantically at nothing and, strangely enough, the mist began to clear, giving way before her hand. She swiped a bit more, finally getting a clear view and she frowned when she found herself in an empty corridor, all by her lonesome.  
  
Not by her lonesome. At the end of the corridor, the way she had come, was a young looking girl with red hair like her own and a sad expression on her face.  
  
Sakura blinked at her for a moment and then glanced around, looking for the others. "My...my friends..." she said frantically. "Please, you have to help me find them! They were HERE a second ago-"  
  
"Would you like to be MY friend?" the girl asked.  
  
Sakura froze, looking back at her. "What?"  
  
The girl came forth and Sakura realized she was floating. She didn't have FEET. Sakura stared for all of a moment before beginning to breathe hard. "Oh my God. Oh my GOD..."  
  
GHOST!  
  
As the girl came closer Sakura turned and ran, racing for the door. If she could make it to the door she would be ok. Everything would be ok. Syaoran would be behind the door and he would help her get out.  
  
She ran into the door and shoved, squeaking as it gave way easier than she had expected. Her body went sailing into the room, chin hitting the ground and she scrambled onto her rear, scampering away from the door and then kicking it shut as the girl made it to the doorway.  
  
She didn't follow her through.  
  
Sakura breathed for all of moment, chest rising and falling in the silence, before noiselessly looking over her shoulder.   
  
To see the same girl smiling at her from a soft white bed in the center of the ghostly room. "You got caught too, huh?"  
  
A scream caught in her throat and Sakura backed away from her. Only to ram into something else. And then, finally, she shrieked, glass-shattering screams that rang throughout the room.  
  
"WOW! What a set of PIPES!" the girl grimaced, as hands grabbed Sakura and tried to turn her around.  
  
She looked over her shoulder to see Syaoran grasping her arms. "It's ME! It's me, stop screaming!" he was shouting, shaking her.  
  
Sakura cut off, staring at him wide-eyed for all of a moment before inhaling and continuing to scream.  
  



	8. The Secret Staircases

The Secret Staircases  
  
  
Tomoyo cried out as she went tumbling down a long set of stone cold stairs. She had managed to get a footing but then the staircase had literally SHIFTED under her and she had gone sprawling again.  
  
And she had gone sprawling ALONE. Eriol had been with her but he had obviously gotten his footing and let her fall the rest of the way. She cursed him under her breath before remembering that she was a SWEET person and quickly took back the insult.  
  
"Eriol-KUN!"  
  
He didn't respond at all from any direction but a moment later a hand grabbed hold of hers, stopping her in mid-tumble. She slid down a step, feet finally catching her and looked up above her head to see Eriol holding onto her hand, balanced on another step.  
  
"Eriol-kun! Thank GOD!" she cried and she rose with his help, wincing as her muscles protested.  
  
Eriol had cuts and scrapes across his cheeks and face, glasses missing. "Are you all right?"  
  
She nodded, inhaling shakily. She had literally fallen down a circular stone staircase, torches lighting the way. Now, the flames cast shadows upon them both as they looked around, their breathing loud in the silence.  
  
"What happened?" Tomoyo asked softly.  
  
Eriol shrugged. "I don't know. That smoke appeared and then the floor just..."  
  
"Gave way." She finished for him. "I know."  
  
Eriol peered further down the staircase and then looked up the way they had come. And he frowned. "Daidouji-san. Look." He murmured faintly.  
  
Tomoyo looked up with him and blinked. The staircase was either getting shorter or they were rising. Whatever the case, there was a roof to the staircase and it was coming to them. "Nani..?"  
  
"Run!" Eriol ordered and he grasped her hand and yanked, dragging her behind as he raced down the steps.   
  
She tried to follow him as best as she could, looking over her shoulder as well. It was closing in fast and she was already sore from the fall. They weren't going to make it. It was going to come down on them and squish them to little-  
  
"Release!"  
  
...pieces? Tomoyo looked at Eriol in time to see a small orb of black light flare in the torchlight. A long, black staff suddenly shot from his grasp, both ends springing forth and he pulled her against him roughly, coming to a complete stop.  
  
"ERIOL-KUN!"  
  
He ducked his head and struck the step he stood on with his staff, frame stiff against her. Tomoyo looked up at the roof of the staircase before turning her face into Eriol's chest, fingers gripping his shirt.  
  
And then wind passed by them, tossing their hair and there was silence in its wake. The squishing didn't come, nor the certain death. Nothing but the faint dripping of water somewhere and the crackle of the torches.  
  
Eriol raised his head, lips parting, and he looked about, his staff thrumming faintly in his grasp. After another moment Tomoyo also looked up, pushing fly-aways from her face to see what had happened.  
  
Above was the staircase, still winding around. The torches still flickered, and shadows still danced. But the roof had vanished and they were still alive.  
  
"It's an illusion." He murmured against her cheek, dark eyes sweeping around the staircase. "It's all an illusion."  
  
Tomoyo swallowed thickly, looking down further below them. "Magic?" she asked faintly.  
  
Eriol nodded slowly. And he took her hand once more, leading the way. "Let's find a way out of here."   
  
  
  
Nakuru rolled down the last few steps of the staircase she had just stumbled over. Her body sprawled out flat on a landing, her breathing rapid. "Ow..."  
  
From above came the sound of something else falling. Something big. She looked over quickly just in time for Spinel Sun to appear, rolling over onto her on his own way down.  
  
"Hey! Get OFF!" she shouted irritably, shoving him. Just for good measure she unrolled the whip she clutched in her hand and snapped it at him. And suddenly her hand flew to her head and she shrieked angrily.  
  
"My HAT!"  
  
Spinel Sun rolled over and climbed onto all fours, tail swishing. "It wasn't even yours." He rumbled, looking from the landing towards a lit doorway several feet away. He padded over to it warily, pausing right outside the doorway.  
  
Nakuru rose, patting the dirt from her butt and floated up behind him, peeking in. "What is this?" she asked, long red hair sticking in her way stubbornly.  
  
"I don't know..." Spinel Sun murmured.  
  
Moonlight filtered out from the room, blue and soothing. Nakuru focused on a bed with clean, white sheets, curtains hanging from a canopy above. There was a portrait in the back of the room, of a young looking woman with red hair and a small smile. Innocence. And on the bed was the girl of the portrait.  
  
Spinel Sun slinked into the room, keeping low to the ground. Nakuru walked in like she owned the place, barely paying any attention to the girl. "Wow, look at this dress...do you think she would mind if I borrowed it?"  
  
If the girl heard she gave no indication.  
  
Spinel Sun stared at her for a moment and then hissed over his shoulder toward Nakuru. "Look at her."  
  
Nakuru didn't respond so he looked at her and sweat-dropped. She was digging through the girl's drawers, flinging things aside and murmuring to herself.  
  
"Too white. Too pink. Too Strawberry Shortcake-ish..." she paused, halfway through digging. "Geez, it's like looking inside Sakura-chan's wardrobe."  
  
Spinel Sun sprang at her, snapping his tail at her rear and causing her to jump. "Pay ATTENTION!" he growled.  
  
Nakuru spun. "WHAT?" she demanded impatiently. "Can't you see I'm going shopping?"  
  
He always had wondered how she got most of her clothes.  
  
The girl rolled over in bed, green eyes focused on the door to her room. Spinel Sun looked the way they had come only to discover the previous doorway was gone.   
  
A sharp pounding came at the door, several feet away from Spinel Sun. He backed away cautiously, wondering how she could NOT see him. He was hard to miss, after all.  
  
The girl scrambled to her feet and dived at the door, flinging it open. "Onee-san!" she cried. And she broke off when she encountered a young man at the door, with dark hair and eyes. "You're not onee-san." She said in confusion.  
  
Spinel Sun felt like rolling his eyes. She sounded and looked a BIT too much like Sakura-san.  
  
The man entered the room, slamming the door shut behind himself.  
  
"Wait! The door automatically locks-" she said quickly, reaching and missing the door by centimeters. It slammed shut and she hung her head. "Damn it."  
  
The man suddenly grabbed her, arm winding around her neck, the other placing a cloth to her mouth and nose. She shrieked, screams muffled, and struggled for moments before her body fell limply in his grasp.  
  
Spinel Sun felt Nakuru come up behind him before hearing her.  
  
"HEY! Don't do that!" she shouted and she raced forward, reaching for the man. Her hands slid through his form, phasing completely and she gasped, staggering away in disbelief.  
  
The man continued on as if never interrupted. He dragged the girl over to the bed and tossed her down, fishing through his pockets for something. A small vial appeared in his hands and he grabbed hold of her hair, lifting her head to pour the contents into her open mouth. Some of it trickled out of the corners of her mouth but most went down, the girl reflexively choking.  
  
"What IS this?" Nakuru demanded, frame stiff with anger. She slowly backed up to stand beside Spinel Sun, watching the scene play out.  
  
The man left the bed, stumbling the slightest bit as if disoriented.  
  
"He's drunk." Spinel Sun murmured.  
  
Nakuru nodded. "Think we should blame Yue for that?"  
  
The man paused outside another door in the room and flung it open, teetering. He pulled out a long stretch of rope, returning to the bed.  
  
"A whip works better." Nakuru said to him smugly, pouting when he showed no indication of hearing her.  
  
The man wound the rope around the girl's neck, tightening it in a knot at the base of her throat and he looked up toward the ceiling. Nakuru and Spinel also looked up, wondering what he searched for.  
  
In the middle of the ceiling was a small hook.  
  
"Is he doing what I think he's doing?" Nakuru asked softly, eyes on the hook.  
  
Spinel Sun took a moment to answer. "No. He's not doing it." He said quietly. "He's already DONE it."  
  
The man tossed up the free end of the rope, managing to hook it and then he fed the rope upward, catching it when the end came back down to him. And with a mighty heave he yanked, dragging the girl's body across the bed and hauling it into the air.  
  
"Oh my GOD!" Nakuru gasped, hand flying to her mouth. "That's going to leave SUCH a bruise!"  
  
The girl squirmed, limbs seemingly heavy, feet kicking. Her body was lifted further up, suspended in the middle of the room. And she tried to talk to him, shouted something hoarsely.  
  
"I KNEW you were a MOMMA'S boy!"  
  
Nakuru's mouth formed an o. "Oooh. That's just wrong..." she sighed with a shake of her head.  
  
Spinel Sun looked at her incredulously. "Do you have ANY idea what the hell is going on?" he demanded. "That girl is being MURDERED before our very EYES!"  
  
Nakuru looked at him. "You said yourself it already happened. And I agree." She shrugged, glancing around the room. "If this is the best Daidouji-san can come up with she should let ME organize the party next year. This BLOWS." And she wandered off, searching the walls for an exit.  
  
Spinel Sun stared after her and then shrugged, following her and helping her look while the man finished murdering the girl.  
  



	9. Locked In A Room

Locked in a Room  
  
  
Yue sat down slowly, blue eyes glazed over. He felt strange. Very, very strange. The world spun every once in a while, especially when he tried to focus. At the moment he was seeing at LEAST fifteen empty bowls of what had originally held punch. He blinked, grimacing, and something new and totally wonderful happened.  
  
His stomach gurgled.  
  
He looked down in total and utter amazement. That had been his stomach! HIS stomach had made that noise! His stomach NEVER made noise!  
  
Especially because he never ate or drank anything.  
  
Realization dawned on him as quickly as evolution. Oooh. So THAT'S why his stomach was making noise. He patted his tummy and choked on a loud burp.  
  
So this was why people drank. What a new and wonderful experience. What a horrible person Clow Reed was for not making him complete with human urges. They were so delightful!  
  
And suddenly, he grimaced. He felt a slow pain creep around his temples. This was not as good an experience. He leaned forward, thinking that maybe it would ease the nausea, and he clutched his stomach.  
  
A moment later he threw up all over the floor.  
  
  
  
Meilin came out of the bathroom, sighing in relief. Her bladder had been full, to the point that one little wayward giggle, the slightest loss of control, and the entire second floor would have been her toilet.  
  
She bumped into Keroberos who sat directly outside the bathroom door.  
  
"Wow." He rumbled. "When you gotta go, you gotta GO, huh?"  
  
Meilin glared at him. "You were sitting outside the whole time?!" she demanded angrily. At his wide, satisfied smile and nod, she lifted her foot and stomped down hard on his tail. "You PERVERT!"  
  
Keroberos' fur leapt off his body, loud roar echoing throughout the hallway.  
  
Meilin "hmphed" at him and went strolling off, head held high. She paused, however, when Kero called to her.  
  
"Have you seen Sakura-chan?"  
  
She turned as red as her eyes, fire suddenly springing to life behind her as she grew twenty times her size and loomed over him, fingers clenched into talons. "No! But she BETTER not be with MY Syaoran!" She shrieked before shrinking back down and marching off.  
  
Keroberos looked off after her, sweat drop rolling down from his ear.   
  
  
  
"Her name is Akane." Syaoran explained to Sakura, seated Indian-style in the middle of the bed. "Her family originally owned this house until she was murdered and all."  
  
Sakura looked at the red-haired girl, wide-eyed. "So, you were really killed here? Why?" she asked.  
  
The girl, Akane, shrugged. "Probably because my betrothed didn't want to marry me. Although there ARE better ways to go about getting out of an arranged marriage..."  
  
Syaoran was nodding wisely, as if he totally understood. "Un, un."  
  
Sakura felt a sweatdrop roll down the side of her face. "Anyway, wow! You and I look a lot alike! Think we're related?" she asked Akane.  
  
"What are the chances?" asked Syaoran. "This is Daidouji-san's house."  
  
Sakura nodded. "I know." And she sighed. "I guess a part of me was just hoping-"  
  
Syaoran raised an eyebrow. "Hoping you were related to a ghost with a huge chip on her shoulder?"  
  
"I was MURDERED!"  
  
"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Syaoran nodded, eyes rolling. "So, if Daidouji-san didn't lead me here, who did? And for what purpose?"  
  
Sakura looked at Akane, the same question on her face. "Yeah, who scared me into locking myself in here?"  
  
Akane shrugged. "Him, of course. I'm sure he's dead by now but his magic holds. Every year, on the same day, his magic lures two new victims into this room. One to impersonate him and one to be me." She nodded. "I expect you two to flip out in the next few hours."  
  
Sakura and Syaoran stared at her. "You mean-" Syaoran uttered.  
  
Akane nodded again. "One of you will turn against the other and one of you will die in the same fashion I did." She motioned toward the ceiling. "The other person will die also, but only because there would be no point in keeping you alive."  
  
Sakura looked at Syaoran and he looked right back, eyes wide. "Funny how she tells us this NOW..."  
  
Syaoran was looking regretful. "If it's me," he said slowly, "I apologize ahead of time."   
  
"SYAORAN!"  
  
Somewhere close by a chime went off, resounding through the room. They all looked up, Akane nodding sadly. "He came for me a few minutes after 10:00pm. It won't be long now."  
  
Sakura and Syaoran stared at her once more. And then, in unison, they leapt off the bed towards the door.  
  
"HELP!"  
  
"LET US OUT!"  
  
  
  
Nakuru opened the closet door, now ignoring the choking sounds the apparition was making. "Suppi-chan, look." She uttered, staring in from the doorway.  
  
Spinel Sun came up behind her, peeking around her legs.  
  
There was no definite scene inside the closet. The walls shifted, objects appearing and disappearing, the floor lifting and falling like a wave. First it was a closet. Then it shifted, expanding into a hallway. Windows appeared, moonlight peeking. The floor spun away like a funnel, steps rising from its smoothness, sudden torches flaring up along the walls to illuminate the staircase. And then, instead of winding down, the staircase lifted, leading upward.  
  
"Some kind of illusion." Spinel Sun murmured.  
  
Shadows suddenly moved, dancing across the walls of the staircase, coming close.  
  
"Eek!" Nakuru cried and she flung the door shut, flattening herself and leaning her weight against it.  
  
"What'd you do THAT for?!" Spinel Sun demanded. "That might have been our exit!"  
  
Nakuru smiled sympathetically, a sweat drop rolling down from her temple. "I'm such a chicken at times."  
  
"Chicken?" Suppi-chan prodded.  
  
The door suddenly jumped under her weight, causing her to shriek again. She pressed herself against it again, this time fighting to keep it closed. It bounced once more, pounds coming from it.  
  
"We have to get OUT of here!" Spinel Sun said, once more stating the obvious. He turned back towards the girl and reared up in shock, tail tucking between his legs as he encountered the murderer standing directly behind him. Over his shoulder hung the girl's corpse, turning and swaying slowly.  
  
"You're in my way." The man said to both Spinel Sun and Nakuru.  
  
Nakuru shook her head. "You can't open this door." She said, smiling sweetly. "All emergency exits are to the left, passed the hanging girl. Thank you for flying Air Nakuru. Please come again." And she winced as the door bounced one more under her.  
  
Spinel Sun backed up against Nakuru as the man took a step in their direction. "You're in my way."  
  
"Let him THROUGH!" Spinel Sun shouted and he wrapped his tail around Nakuru's ankle, yanking roughly.  
  
She went down with an indignant cry. "Why you LITTLE-"  
  
The door flew open then, smashing into her fallen form and flinging her aside.  
  
"Eeeeeh!"  
  
And then Eriol entered, blazing staff held out before him, Tomoyo behind him clutching his free hand.  
  
"Illusion begone." He commanded, pointing his staff.  
  
Nakuru rolled over onto her stomach, blinking wide eyes.  
  
The man's form shifted, waving eerily. And then he phased away, like a wind blowing. The girl's corpse did the same, the room suddenly melting. Slowly, the bed and the drawers, along with the portrait and windows were replaced by a dusty old room, cobwebs and old debris littering the ground.  
  
Nakuru glanced around before whooping and snapping her whip, causing Spinel Sun to jump and turn in happy anticipation. "Score one for the home team!" And then she noticed an object in the corner of the room she had originally come in through.  
  
"My HAT!"  
  
  
  
Sakura pulled away from the door. "It's no use..." she wailed.  
  
Syaoran looked up, examining the thick door. "We have to get out of here. NOW. We HAVE to." He said urgently. And he winced, lifting a hand to rub his temple.  
  
"What is it?" Sakura demanded, staring at him.  
  
"Beginning of a headache." He replied.  
  
Behind them, still seated on the bed, Akane tsk-tsked quietly.  
  
Sakura whirled. "What?" she cried fearfully. "What's wrong?"  
  
And then two arms wrapped around her, one arm trapping her, the other holding a damp cloth to her face.  
  



	10. Reliving the Nightmare

Reliving the Nightmare  
  
Sakura shrieked like she was being murdered, fighting instantly as the hands tried to get a better grip on her. She took one whiff of the acrid scent of the cloth and immediately held her breath, throwing her arms in the air.  
  
"Oof!"  
  
Her fist caught her attacker in the nose and he released her, springing back. She turned immediately, breathing hard and she paused when she encountered Syaoran holding his suddenly red nose, band-aid crossed over it. "Syaoran?"  
  
"That's never happened before." He murmured, and his voice was lower than Syaoran's usual. It sounded colder too.  
  
"Syaoran?"  
  
"I would suggest you RUN." Akane called from the bed, hand playing with her short red hair. "He's going to come after you now."  
  
"RUN WHERE?!" Sakura demanded. "I'm locked in this room!"  
  
Akane paused thoughtfully. "Maybe if you run a few laps around the room you'll tire him out?"  
  
Sakura dodged Syaoran as he lunged at her, reaching out with fingers shaped into talons. And with a frustrated growl she backed up, scanning the room. "Do you have anything that might perhaps HELP ME?" she asked the ghost, feigning sweetness.  
  
Akane thought again, eyes rolling toward the ceiling. "Oh, well, yeah. There's a rope in the closet." She motioned. "You can use it on him before he uses it on you."  
  
Sakura stared at her as if she had burped and sneezed at the same time. "That's SYAORAN!" she reminded her, pointing and squeaking as Syaoran caught her by her finger and yanked. "OW!"  
  
His arms wrapped around her neck as she fell into him and she immediately tried to pry his fingers off, grimacing. "Syao...ran-"  
  
His face was cold, eyes blank. And his breath reeked suddenly of alcohol, blowing across her face.  
  
Sakura groaned and then threw herself backward, releasing his wrists to grab hold of his collar. His expression shifted to one of surprise and by then she was monkey-tossing him, back hitting the ground, legs throwing him up and over.  
  
He hit the floor and slid, head bent along the ground as he came to a stop before the closet door.  
  
"Oh, yeah, great idea. Get him closer to his weapon." Akane remarked.  
  
Sakura threw her a death glare. "No WONDER you DIED!" she shrieked. "All you do is complain! COMPLAIN, COMPLAIN, COMPLAIN!" And she rolled over, rising a bit.  
  
"RELEASE!"  
  
Akane's eyebrows lifted into her hairline. "Hey, you can do that, too?" she asked suddenly interested.  
  
"TOO?!"  
  
Syaoran rose, eyes narrowed at the wand that appeared in Sakura's hand. He threw up his own hand, squeezing it into a fist. "Release!"  
  
"Too." Akane repeated with a nod.  
  
Sakura stared in utter and complete disbelief as a black staff sprang from Syaoran's grip. "Juuuuuuuust great..." she whispered and she threw out a card before looking to see what it was. "Come forth!"  
  
Bubbles lifted from the card as it flared with power and then the bubbles overtook her form, covering her in soap.  
  
Akane hung her head in defeat. "This is just too humiliating." She mumbled sadly. "I had a better chance without the use of the Clow Cards."  
  
"THEY'RE SAKURA CARDS NOW!" Sakura screeched at her furiously. And she flung off the offending bubbles, taking out another card. "SHOT CARD!"  
  
"Ooh." Akane nodded, impressed. "That's a good one."  
  
Shot rose from its card, a single orb of light. And a moment later it sprang, shooting forth almost angrily.  
  
Syaoran dodged it before reaching into his robes and pulling out his own card, tossing it up. Eriol's very familiar design lit up underneath his feet, throwing him in shadow as he glared. "Shield!"  
  
Sakura clenched her jaw, watching as Shot struck the sudden field erected around Syaoran. "Those ARE the Clow Cards." She murmured, calling back on Shot. It returned to Card form, floating down into her hand and she surveyed the situation for a moment, unsure what to do next.  
  
The door suddenly opened and Yue peeked in, looking green. "Oh, this isn't a bathroom?" he asked, let down. And he pulled back out, slamming the door shut behind himself.  
  
Sakura stared, world spinning in utter disbelief. "That good-for-nothing-"  
  
"Sand!"  
  
Sakura whirled back around. "Sand?" And she squeaked as the floor suddenly began to shift, becoming the grainy substance and funneling into a cone under her. She was nearly dragged into its core as she hesitated.  
  
"Fly!"  
  
Wings burst from her back and she wailed as her costume was ripped further. "I don't BELIEVE this!" she cried as she was lifted off the sand. "My COSTUME!"  
  
Syaoran lifted an arm, gesturing, and an arm of sand suddenly rose, swiping at her. She dodged the blow, shouting angrily.  
  
"Damn it, FORGET it! Where's the ROPE!"  
  
The closet door burst open then, admitting Eriol, Tomoyo, Nakuru and Spinel Sun.  
  
"MINNA!"  
  
Nakuru was instantly dragged into the sand and in she went, spinning around toward the core. "Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh!"  
  
Spinel Sun took one look and started laughing, pounding his paw on the ground as he howled.  
  
"Hey! Someone HELP!" Sakura shouted, dragging their attention back.  
  
Eriol took a step forth, staring at Syaoran and the staff. "Isn't that my staff?" he asked quizzically.  
  
A whip suddenly unfurled, wrapping around Spinel Sun's pounding paw and he blinked at it, wide-eyed, cut off in mid laugh. A moment later he was also dragged in with a roar, right behind Nakuru who did not look happy in the least from where she managed to stay afloat close to the center. "HEY-"  
  
"BAKA!"  
  
"Fly." Eriol uttered and black wings sprang from his back, lifting him. A moment later he narrowed his eyes and dove, swiping at Syaoran with his own staff.  
  
Syaoran grimaced as Eriol's staff clashed with Shield, power bouncing furiously.  
  
From her angle Sakura also dove, stabbing downward with her wand and striking the Shield.  
  
Syaoran cried out as his force of protection was shattered, and he ducked, covering himself from the light.  
  
The Sand Card instantly came to a stop, Nakuru and Spinel Sun choking from the core. "Oi, Suppi-chan, get your paw out of my face!"  
  
"Control your WHIP!"  
  
"Who are you?" Eriol demanded, coming to alight on the ground before his descendant. "Show your true form."  
  
Sakura also touched down, looking from Eriol to Syaoran helplessly.  
  
From the bed Akane sighed, rising from the comfortable position she had taken, laid out. "Oh, all right already." She growled, sitting up. She waved a hand at Syaoran, the corner of her mouth curling up and looking like she was a child who had just had her fun ruined. "Your magic always was too strong anyway..."  
  
Eriol looked at her and glanced at Syaoran as mist rose from his form. With a sigh he went limp, frame falling to the floor with a thud. Sakura grimaced before remembering she cared for him and she swooped down, cradling him. "Oh, Syaoran, are you ok?"  
  
Akane slowly floated off the bed, straightening, and her appearance shifted into that of a woman with dark hair and angry eyes, red make-up accentuating the lines of her eyes.  
  
"Hey! You're that girl I gave the hairpiece to!" Eriol said, smiling brilliantly.  
  
"I thought I took care of you." Sakura said with a frown. "Remember? We got sucked into the book and you kept trying to drown me..." she looked around. "You changed your routine." She said with a nod, eyes focusing on the sand under her.  
  
"You don't even remember my NAME!" the woman cried.  
  
Eriol looked apologetic.   
  
The woman sighed. "Forget it." She growled. With a snap of her fingers the objects of the room dissolved, leaving her floating in the air. The room also vanished, replaced by the night sky and no floor underneath their feet.  
  
With shrieks, the group fell to the roof of Tomoyo's house, landing in a pile of limbs.  
  
Nakuru burst out, looking triumphant as she stood on top of the mountain of people. "With my handy whip, I am RULER!"  
  
She glanced down at the sudden growling sound to see Spinel Sun gnawing on her ankle, kicking at her at the same time. "Oi, Suppi-chan."  
  
Sakura slowly floated down along with Eriol, touching down on the roof. "So, wait. The whole legend of the girl spurned by her lover didn't really happen?"  
  
The woman motioned at Eriol and Eriol lifted a hand to his hair, smiling sweetly. "Well..."  
  
"Oh, yeah."  
  
They only then became aware of the sound of chanting close by and, looking further down the roof they saw several women, lifting their hands to the skies and dancing nude around the splayed out body of a very unconscious Yue.  
  
"Wow."  
  
"For once, can you just stop this?" Eriol said finally, looking at the woman. "We BOTH died a long time ago. I think we should just put it to rest already."  
  
The woman slowly came to rest on the roof, arms crossing over her chest. "I don't think I can ever forgive you." She said haughtily.   
  
Eriol nodded as if he understood. "Well, that works for me then. Just as long as you stop bothering my friends. They did nothing to you."  
  
Sakura smiled sweetly, interrupting. "Sumimasen..."  
  
"Well, except for HER."  
  
"Mou..."  
  
The woman paused thoughtfully before nodding finally. "All right, I accept. I will stop bothering your friends but I'll still be haunting you." She said, glaring at him.  
  
Eriol shrugged. "Sounds good. We'll have Poker Night."  
  
The woman pursed her lips and then nodded once more. Looking at the group of them she smiled. "No hard feelings, eh?" And before anyone could say anything she vanished into thin air.  
  
"No hard feelings?"  
  



	11. Epilogue

Epilogue:  
  
Keroberos raised his eyes the slightest bit upon catching sight of the group as they came down the staircase, some floating, some trudging. "Where have you BEEN?" he demanded, feet padding softly as he hopped over to them. "Yue was grabbed by a group of Satan-worshipping women and dragged off and had I actually CARED I would have gone and saved him!" he growled at them. Then he saw Yue was one of the group, soft white clothes ripped and stained upon his slender frame.  
  
"You look like crap."  
  
Yue's eyes were glazed and the slightest bit red. He glared at Kero for a moment before hiccupping.  
  
"You missed it, Keroberos!" Nakuru squealed excitedly. "There was this ghost and she had a bone to pick with Eriol and boy, did we let her have it or WHAT?"   
  
Keroberos glanced at Syaoran who was hanging off Sakura's shoulder, legs barely supporting him. "What happened to him?" he asked.  
  
Nakuru glanced over. "Oh, him. Man, what a WIMP! You get possessed for all of two seconds and look at you!"  
  
From down the hallway came a shriek and then Meilin came running, eyes wide with fear. "Syaoran! There's a ghost! A ghost in the house! And he had this MEAN, MEAN voice and-" she came to a dead stop and fire suddenly flared in her eyes.   
  
"Kinomoto! GET your hands OFF him!"  
  
Sakura instantly obeyed, allowing Syaoran to drop to the floor like a dead weight.  
  
Eriol glanced over his shoulder back the way they had come, mouth pursed thoughtfully.  
  
"Eriol-kun?" Tomoyo asked slowly.  
  
Eriol glanced at her and then smiled cheerfully, shaking off the question in her eyes. "It's nothing. Just wondering what it'll take to stop her permanently." He said.  
  
Tomoyo smiled just as innocently. "Put out."  
  
The group turned as a whole to look at her, Eriol flaming a deep red through his quivering, strained smile.   
  
"TOMOYO-CHAN!" Sakura gasped.  
  
Nakuru came forth, looking shy. She slowly held out the whip she held in her hand toward Eriol. "You might need this more than I do."  
  
Spinel Sun mewed quietly, as if bidding the whip goodbye.   
  
Eriol slowly took the whip, staring at it. "Actually, maybe I can find a use for this after all." He said softly. And he raised his eyes back to Tomoyo. "I heard you had a small room with...stuff?"  
  
Tomoyo's smile turned the slightest bit wicked. "I was wondering what was taking you so long to ask me about it." And she wound her arm through his and dragged him back up the stairs.  
  
"Oh, no! NOT upstairs again!"  
  
Sakura looked off after them and then sighed, glancing back at Syaoran as Meilin lifted him. "Well, I think the party's over so..." she looked at Keroberos. "Home?"  
  
"Sounds good." Kero nodded.  
  
Sakura looked toward Yue, catching him just as his eyes rolled up into his head and his body took a fall. "Nani? Yue-san!"  
  
White light burst from his body, flinging her back a bit and then Yukito was in his place, staggering.  
  
Sakura whirled on Keroberos. "GO!"  
  
Kero took off, actually managing to turn the doorknob on the front door and let himself out. Spinel Sun followed, tail tucked between his hind legs.  
  
Nakuru remained, looked gleeful.  
  
Yukito opened his eyes, looking around in confusion. "Sakura-chan." He asked uncertainly, eyes catching on the hallway. He hesitated, the color draining from his face. "Where are we?"  
  
"Tomoyo's house." She answered cheerfully.  
  
Yukito frowned delicately. "Tomoyo's..." he whispered, still looking around. He blinked, drawing closer to her. "I am having a strange feeling off déjà vu. As if I've been here before. And about...strange women...dancing and chanting above me-"  
  
Sakura laughed a little too loudly, taking hold of his arm and dragging him with her toward the door. "What a STRANGE one you are, Yukito-san!" she said, patting his arm as they walked. "Chanting women..."  
  
"There he IS!" Came a loud feminine voice, shrieking maniacally.  
  
Sakura didn't even have to look to know the women meant Yukito. Although how she knew they meant Yukito and not Yue was beyond her. "Syaoran! Meilin! Take care of that for us?" And she left them and Nakuru with the group of women that came racing down the staircase.  
  
"Eriol? Tomoyo-san!" Nakuru cried behind her feeling figure, sounding horrified.   
  
Meilin and Syaoran looked up as the group of crazy women came down the stairs, Eriol and Tomoyo's figures strung up and tied on logs of wood.  
  
"Ideal for a witch burning..." Nakuru murmured thoughtfully.  
  
And throughout the house echoed the musical peals of laughter of a very satisfied ghost.  
  
  
Yeah, it took me a while to finish at the end, what with school and my renewed interest in anime (I've been ordering like..BUCKETLOADS!) but here it is and I have a new story idea which involves the Yue-Nakuru story arc I said I was going to write. It's not going to focus on Yue and Nakuru but it'll have them together as a couple. =) Can't wait!  
Hope you enjoyed the story, minna! I died with laughter writing it. =)  
Ja!  
-Aeslinn ;)  
  



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